As we noted two weeks ago, it is rather curious that the judge in the Bunkerville standoff case declared a mistrial because the prosecution failed to timely turn over evidence that she previously had deemed inadmissible. Today the Las Vegas newspaper picked up on the fact the prosecution made this very argument in “recently unsealed court papers opposing the dismissal,” though the unsealing was two weeks ago. The paper quoted that document as saying, “The[…]

As Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.” In the matter of the Bunkerville standoff case, the fat lady may be the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Though the judge on Monday dismissed the case against Cliven Bundy, two of his sons and a Montana militia man “with prejudice,” meaning the charges can’t simply be refiled and another trial scheduled, according to the Reuters account, The Associated Press notes that the U.S. attorney, Dayle Elieson, released[…]

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Justice must not only be done, but it must be seen to be done. Much of the evidence in the high-profile Bunkerville standoff case has been cloaked in secrecy due to a blanket court protective order that requires just about everything filed in the case to be filed under seal. Now, U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro is conducting hearings behind closed doors. After dismissing the jury until Dec. 20, the judge closed the court to all but the parties in[…]

First, the judge in the federal trial of four defendants in the Bunkerville standoff case delayed the trial for a week because the defense accused the prosecution of not providing potential evidence. Now, three weeks into that trial, the judge has halted the trial over similar allegations. According to the website of the morning newspaper, the judge today hinted at the possibility of a mistrial, saying the failure to disclose potentially exculpatory evidence might be “sufficient to undermine the confidence[…]

Weeks into the federal trial of 71-year-old rancher Cliven Bundy, two of this sons and self-styled militia man from Montana, the judge has decided that all of the defendants should be released from jail to what amounts to house arrest. Ryan Bundy was so released at the beginning of the trial but the judge refused to do the same for the others. The four have been jailed since February 2016. The judge said she “reweighed” the evidence. But in a further[…]

When Bureau of Land Management agents and their hired cowboys showed up at Cliven Bundy’s ranch in April 2014 to confiscate his cattle — for which he had refused to pay grazing fees for decades — hundreds of people showed up to exercise their First Amendment right to protest. Some also exercised their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

After having the defense stripped of the ability to argue about constitutional rights or to even mention possible excess force on the part of federal agents, the jurors in the Bunkerville standoff retrial still voted 11-1 Tuesday to acquit on all counts, defense attorneys told the morning newspaper after questioning those jurors. Two defendants acquitted on all charges were freed immediately after a year and half in jail, but prosecutors are to decide today[…]